The Long Layover

We leave Kinshasa on March 26th – two weeks from today.  We are still torn between sadness, excitement, and denial.  Mostly the latter.  We return to US soil on April 3.  That extremely long layover is something we are quite excited about.

Seven years ago, though I can’t remember exactly how or where, I began communicating online with a lady in The Netherlands.  We were both engaged and got married within a year of each other.  We chatted about wedding stuff (her English is flawless).  Then, in 2008, we both remodeled our houses and discussed the pros and cons of having chickens in our backyard.  In 2009 we both welcomed our first kiddos, hers, a girl, and my little Levi.  In 2011, within weeks of each other, we celebrated our second kids, each of us having the opposite.  And, finally, in 2013 we get to meet, in person!

We’ll overnight in Brussels with a missionary family that is truly awesome for taking us in, sight unseen.  Then we’ll take the train up to The Netherlands where Nicolien and her family will pick us up and we’ll spend the next five days getting to know them and their country.  We are so stinkin’ excited!  We get to be in The Netherlands for Easter weekend AND tulip season!

Our excitement over The Netherlands is doubled by having a new friend here in Kinshasa who is Dutch.  Rick began coming to our Tuesday night Bible study sometime late last year and we’ve enjoyed hearing about his country (the Dutch are very proud of their heritage and their country – and we cannot blame them!) and his awesome accent.  Rick is also very tall. That might sound petty, but he’s literally the tallest person I’ve ever met.

His tales of his culture and country have made us even more excited to see it in person.  He also said it was an honor that we chose his country as our first European stop.

So, while we are excited to rush to the US, we are also excited to be traveling in Europe for the first time, meeting new old friends, seeing an amazing country, and, not to be left out, being in Europe without jet lag – not something many Americans get to experience!  The Netherlands is in the same time zone as Kinshasa!

And, of course, I’ll do my best to blog about our experiences there.  Meanwhile, there is some packing to be done and goodbyes to be said.